Today’s the big first day of school and I am up extra early to get ready for the day. Before the chaos of getting ready before the bus arrives begins, I want to share some of my tips for helping make back to school lunches work for you and your children:
*Get your child involved with the process:
*have your child help you develop a list of a handful of sure-fire main dish options he or she will be excited to see in their lunch box
*let them get creative and think outside the “lunchbox,” ie, leftovers, non-sandwich options such as hummus and vegetables/pita to dip, pasta salad, hard boiled eggs, or homemade cracker and cheese stacks
*communicate with them periodically to check if your child has new ideas, feedback, etc
*Make sure you child can open all the lunch containers you use
*For young children and first-time lunch packers, doing a trial run may help, especially if your school has a fairly limited amount of time to eat lunch
*Remember food safety: pack hot items in appropriate containers and cold items with cold packs
*Packing the lunch the night before school can cut down on morning stress
*Planning lunches for the week can also help reduce last minute stress (ie, nighttime run to the grocery)
*Go Green! Check out all the bento, reusable containers and thermos type options for school lunches
SPC
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